Unnecessary Risk
by LaDyFiCtIoN
Summary: Saving your partner can be considered an unnecessary risk. So why does Itachi do it? (Mild Flirting, no real yaoi, KisaIta hint)


My husband has decided to write fanfiction, yay! While we were discussing the plot line to his story, he said, _''in this line of work, you can never expect your partner to come rescue you.''_

And then my brain came up with this.

I call this _"mild"_ flirting. So not even full yaoi. Shame on me. KisaIta Hinting.

 **Disclaimer:** Nothing.

 **-=Unnecessary Risk=-**

In this line of work, you never expected your partner to rescue you. To even call them your partner was quite the leap. They were more like associates, working together in cooperation. Kisame laughed to himself. There was no possible way Itachi would come save him from his captors. No way. They only gotten the upper hand because he drained most of his chakra fighting the four tails and they managed to seal his energy and deplete his reserves until he bordered his limits. Completely weakened, imprisoning Kisame was easier than it should have been. Samehada fared no better. The shark teeth gnashed at the hands that tried to touch it in vain. Kisame would have taunted that particular ninja but the light in his eyes was darkening and the sudden urge to sleep overwhelmed him. He mused, before losing consciousness, _I guess they want me alive._

Kisame woke up in an interrogation room with several stone ninja surrounding his prison. It was literally a cage. He was chained to a bench, in a seated position with steel bars surrounding him. They were infused with many layers of chakra; he could see that by focusing. His eyes rolled around the room, as he scanned his surroundings rapidly, before they would begin to question him. He assessed the guards and their skills. Before long, they would realize that he was awake. Kisame licked his dry lips and took in a deep breath; the first question was directed at him then.

They had noticed.

"You are Hoshigaki, Kisame, correct?" That voice was gruff, somber, and powerful.

But definitely not intimidating. Kisame sighed, "yes."

"You are a wanted criminal and known member of the Akatsuki. You are our prisoner now, until we collect the bounty on your head."

"You sound so much like Kakuzu," Kisame said to no one in particular but the comment amused him greatly.

This was all his fault. He was having too much fun trying to tame that beast by himself. He even used most of Samehada's collected energy, on top of his own chakra. And he had had it too, until those stone ninjas interfered. There was always next time.

Out of respect, Itachi stayed behind and let Kisame enjoy his epic battle but these ninjas had their own values - protect the jinchuuriki at all costs. Except that these particular men appeared to be bounty hunters as well. Smarter ninjas would have probed his unconscious mind or killed him immediately. So it was nice to be alive, for a while longer. It would be more than enough time to amass the chakra needed to murder these idiots and join Itachi for their status report. A few more hours of this at best, the shark thought; he had been ignoring most of this man's taunting speech. He mentioned torture and cooperation but that was ridiculous, of course. No one tortured Hoshigaki, Kisame.

The interrogating ninja asked another relevant question that Kisame decided to answer, "Is your partner Uchiha, Itachi in the nearby region?"

"Yes, he is." It was fun to threaten them with Itachi's presence.

There was that word again, Kisame thought, partner... _as if_. Associate at best. _There is no way that he is going to come and save me. Why would he? He isn't obligated. No one is forcing him. He is just going to impatiently wait for three days, then simply report me as missing and the mission a failure._

Kisame was trying to mull out a plan, while the other ninjas began discussing things amongst themselves in code. There was no point in trying to decipher their speech; that would be too boring and would most likely not provide any valuable insight.

Just a few more hours and everyone will drown. It was a simple strategy but thoroughly effective in most predicaments. Kisame was almost too excited to do it to them. He shivered in anticipation. Soon now...

The interrogator barked orders at his men then left the room; his fellow brethren remained as security. Kisame counted six guards and it entertained him that each and every one of them was staring at him intently now. None of them seemed worth fighting, nor had he seen the ninja who originally sealed him in that bunch. Samehada was nowhere in sight either, which meant that after killing these idiots, Kisame would have to scour each room, looking for his precious sword. That also meant that he would most likely encounter the sealing specialist as well. He had something nefarious planned for that particular ninja.

Instead, Kisame heard screaming in the distance. It lasted a few seconds, then silence resumed anew but he was certain that he had heard the reverberations of fear and agony. Kisame closed his amber eyes and when he opened them again, after a long sigh, he saw Itachi murdering the last of his guards.

Kill...was a strong word. They were all entranced in some tortuous hell of Itachi's choosing. Poor bastards.

So Itachi decided to rescue him, after all. Kisame was bemused and amused simultaneously. This was new.

"Itachi, how nice of you to join me." Kisame said, as the Uchiha approached his locked cage.

There was no response to his polite goading, only the glowing, swirling, red pools of the sharingan.

Itachi tossed him a set of keys through the bars.

"Thank you." Kisame replied casually; he unlocked his wrists and ankles but none of the keys worked on the main lock. He stood there, awkwardly impatient.

"So you came to rescue me?" The shark could not help himself, he had to ask.

As Itachi found the second set of keys and walked over, he simply said, "You are _my_ partner."

Kisame chuckled again. He knew that already. "And? Boss said never to save anyone except our own skin. You know, unnecessary risks."

This time, Itachi smirked darkly, as he stood before Kisame, "there were no unnecessary risks."

"So you came because you were impatient with me? Couldn't just wait three hours for my chakra to come back."

Itachi had not opened Kisame's cell yet. "How many answers do you need? You are _my_ partner. That's why I'm here."

"This really wasn't necessary." Kisame said, as the door to his freedom was finally opened.

Itachi only glared in response to the statement.

"In this line of business, your partner is never expected to save you." Kisame repeated to Itachi and the Uchiha scoffed at him. "Should I not rely upon you then?" Itachi asked, as they wandered through the halls of the secret base. His voice echoed in the absolute silence.

There was no one left to stop them, so it seemed.

"You can rely on me." Kisame finally said, as Itachi brought him to Samehada.

"Good. I want _my_ partner to be dependable."

Only then had Kisame noticed Itachi's intonation and his emphasis on the word _"my"_ as if to suggest possessiveness. Kisame wondered if this was deliberate. Everything that Itachi did was calculated. He could not help but wonder...

Did he miss something?

The shark began to smile, as they walked outside and saw the morning sun peeking over the horizon. Itachi was definitely interesting. Kisame stared him down, from head to toe, still musing absurd things to himself.

"You know," Kisame began and turned his sharp grin to the Uchiha, "If I'm _your_ partner that makes you _mine_ too."

Itachi smiled.

 **-=Ende=-**

First story I've ever written on my cellphone. I loved it. That's what counts!


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